Trying to lose weight [Please Help]

issie9696

i am a 18 year old male and i weigh 203 today and two days ago i weighed 207 so i've lost 4lbs ( my goal weigh is 150 ) which i thought was pretty good considering that i went to a music festival and had two cans Arizona cherry limeades and a large funnel cake that i shared with 4 other people and honestly didn't eat much of it

and to today so far i've eaten:

breakfast:
Minute Maid - Lemonade, 8 oz 110cal
( i know i didn't even eat anything for breakfast i just wasn't hungry and also a little scared to eat after pigging out last night)

lunch:
Eggs - Hard-boiled (whole egg), 2 large 155cal
Marketside - Classic Iceberg Salad (Mdh), 1 1/2 cups (85g) 15cal
Hidden Valley - Original Ranch, 2 Tbsp (30 ml) 140cal
Minute Maid - Lemonade, 8 oz 110cal

So all together i've had 530 calories today and i am on a 2,090 calorie diet and i have 1,560 calories remaining . which once again i thought was good but and than i saw this:
*Based on your total calories consumed for today, you are eating too few calories. Not only is it difficult to receive adequate nutrition at these calorie levels, but you could also be putting your body into starvation mode. Starvation mode lowers your metabolism and makes weight loss more difficult. We suggest increasing your calorie consumption to 1200 calories per day minimum.

so i have a few questions because obviously i have no idea what i am doing:

how many calories should a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner have?

are processed foods really something i shouldn't be eating?

am i really at risk of putting my body in starvation mode?

when is the best time of day to exercise, how long should my work out be and what are the best exercises to get a flat stomach?

how can i stay full all day?

and any other tips you have for a men who is trying to start living a healthier life

Thank You in advance for all your answers

StaciMarie1974

You can eat any food - but be reasonable about proportions. In my opinion living on lemonade & lettuce is not living. There is no nutritional value there. A meal should have some protein, fruit and/or veggie content, whole grains, even healthy fats. Snacks can have some or all of those. Processed foods are fine unless you'd rather avoid them. Eating ONLY processed foods may have you running out of calories and feeling like you haven't eaten much.

If you entered your height, weight, etc. into MFP and a reasonable weight loss goal - then it should have you set up with a goal calorie consumption daily. Sounds like 2090 is it? Sounds reasonable from what I know. That already has your deficit 'built in'.

As to how many calories per meal - everyone is different. Some eat a small breakfast, medium lunch, big dinner with 2-3 snacks during the day. Others are the opposite. Experiment with different setups to see how you feel (energy level, 'fullness') to see what works best for you. Take your calorie total and divide by 4 - comes out to about 525. Aim for 500-550 for each meal and 500 or so to split on snacks during the day. Adjust as you see fit.

SonicDeathMonkey80

You didn't lose 4lbs of fat in 2 days... that's more of a "fluctuation" of water... onto your questions.

how many calories should a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner have?
No good answer. Mine have 300-500, but YMMV

are processed foods really something i shouldn't be eating?
Again, YMMV. I'm not one to care, but others think processed foods are bad for you. A calorie is a calorie.

am i really at risk of putting my body in starvation mode?
Not after one day. But only eating 500 calories is not sustainable for healthy weight loss.

when is the best time of day to exercise, how long should my work out be and what are the best exercises to get a flat stomach?
Best time of day? Whenever you can do it.
How long should your workout be? Long enough to burn some calories. Mine are roughly an hour each, longer on weekends.
Best exercises for X body part? None. Fat falls off where it feels like it. You can build muscle under it, but the fat goes away with a deficit.

how can i stay full all day?
Eat more than 500 calories. Include more protein. Don't drink your calories.

glenelliott5872

I totally agree with SonicDeathMon.

I stopped drinking calories esp full fat cola/lemonade. I try to eat 1500 calories a day nett. I make up to a sensible amount with exercise. don't go mad with the exercise and don't go mad with the diet. Extreme diets end up being short term because you will end up feeling ill.

In my opinion, accuracy is vital with food intake and exercise.

Weigh your food with good scales.

Use an app like runtastic / run keeper etc to calculate energy used during exercise rather than MFP. Even better get a heart rate monitor to sync with run keeper.

Don't worry about gaining muscle while losing weight but try exercising to avoid excessive muscle loss while dieting.

Try to eat a balanced diet to stay healthy. There is no point getting thinner if you end up getting scurvy because you aren't eating fruit ( and lemonade isn't fruit)

tappae

We are at similar weights and have a similar goal. I lost a lot of weight (down to 161) using this website a few years ago. When I first started, I tried to net zero calories by exercising at least as much as I ate. This was only sustainable for a few days. Then, I tried with my calories set at 2 pounds loss per week (around 1400 calories). This was a little better, but I was having trouble thinking straight and almost passed out a few times. After that, I just went with the site's recommendations (around 1900 since I was a little smaller then) and it worked like a charm! I ate all my exercise calories back and I lost steadily!


how many calories should a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner have?

It varies. I usually eat around 500 for breakfast and then 600 each for the others, leaving about 500 for snacks.


are processed foods really something i shouldn't be eating?

That's up to you. I don't like many of them, but I don't think abstaining from stuff matters for weight loss as long as you can fit it into your 2090. Sustainability is the key, so that you can stick with it!


am i really at risk of putting my body in starvation mode?

I'm not a scientist, so I'm not going to touch that one.


when is the best time of day to exercise, how long should my work out be and what are the best exercises to get a flat stomach?

I liked the answer above: whenever you can do it, for as long as you want. I enjoy running, and do so for 4 to 6 hours a week. No exercise will target specific fat, but as long as you keep eating at a deficit, the fat will come off from everywhere.


how can i stay full all day?

Eat more food. Less calorie-dense food can make you feel more full.


There is some evidence that eating plenty of protein will help preserve your muscles while losing the fat.

wilsoje74

Less lemonade more food

glenelliott5872

Less lemonade more food

Laconic response